Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn't Designed for You

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My hope is that this thought process continues to push society to think outside the box - less Dustin Hoffman's "Rain Man" or even Jim Parsons' Sheldon and more nuanced (and not necessarily male). The book de-pathologizes those of us who most profoundly and intensely think and feel the world around us. Since the book is about Gender and neurodivergence, I don't expect a deep dive on Race and ADHD/Autism however given how recently this work was published I find the sparse mentioning of race to be inadequate. I loved that Nerenberg explained all of the ways the brain functions out of the norm and how to deal with this.

I was very much looking forward to reading this, as the premise is laudable/something I am selfishly interested in, and I was extremely disappointed afterward.

This was yet another book by a well-meaning, cis-het, middle- to upper-class, white woman that just…totally missed the mark. This book focuses on the sensory-sensitivity that is a common theme across multiple neurodivergences, and which I'm just beginning to appreciate as a major component of WHY I find certain environments stressful or overwhelming.

Worth the read but may make you crave for a deeper dive of a book which hopefully is on the way from Jenara or other authors. Nerenberg also offers us a path forward, describing practical changes in how we communicate, how we design our surroundings, and how we can better support divergent minds. For a book published in 2020, you'd think that the author would realize that "Asperger's" is outdated, or at least mention it (or it's historical connotations).Additionally, this book was released in 2020, which is enough time for the author and anyone else involved in this book to learn that terms like "high functioning" and "low functioning" are outdated and harmful. It felt like everyone interviewed was a professionally successful woman, there is no mention of blue collar work and nothing on the massive racial disparities that currently exist. I think this would be useful for someone who is completely new to any of the forms of neurodivergence contained within the book, but otherwise this isn’t that great.